McDonald’s to hold car seat “round up”

AAA and McDonald’s have partnered for the AAA Child Safety Seat Round Up. For each child’s car seat donated between 9-11 a.m. Aug. 2 at the McDonald’s at 235 Meadowlands Blvd., Washington, McDonald’s will reward parents with a coupon for a free Egg McMuffin, Sausage McMuffin or new Quarter Pounder.

“We are encouraging people to bring in their car seats they have stored in their attic or garage waiting to be reused or passed on to someone else. More than likely, seats in storage have exceeded the car seat ‘life span’ of six years and should be destroyed,” said Terri Rae Anthony, AAA safety advisor and certified child passenger safety technician. “Every seat we collect is a potential life saved,” she added.

When installed and used correctly, child safety seats can reduce fatal injury by up to 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Safe Kids Worldwide.

A child car seat or booster seat is no longer safe if it:

• Has already protected a child in a car crash

• Is more than 6 years old

• Is missing critical parts and pieces (such as the harness or buckle) that can no longer be replaced by the manufacturer

• Is listed on the recall/defect list as needing to be destroyed

“AAA’s goal is to see every child from birth through age 8 seated safely and securely in a car seat or booster seat,” Anthony said. “The AAA Child Safety Seat Round Up gets us one step closer to this goal by removing unsafe car seats and booster seats from our community.”

Partnering with AAA East Central and McDonald’s for this event are the following sponsors: SW Highway Safety Network and North Strabane Township Police and Fire Departments.

AAA encourages parents to have their car seats and booster seats inspected by a certified child passenger safety technician. For more information, contact AAA’s Safety Department at 412-365-7212. Parents can check for car seat recalls at www.nhtsa.gov/safety/cps.